VAIL — I ran into Bill Walton in Vail Village Friday on my way to the press room and he invited me to sit down so he could talk about his week riding along the USA Pro Challenge. Before each stage, the NBA Hall of Famer rides with the rec team, Carmichael Training Systems, and marveled at Colorado cycling.

Walton primarily came to Aspen to see his son, Luke, get married. But Bill is following the race all the way to Denver.

“I was able to ride every day,” said Walton, a huge vertical scar on his surgically replaced knee. “The bike trail system in Colorado is just spectacular. And generally the cars are incredibly respectful of the riders. You don’t get that a lot. The quality of the roads has just been fantastic. The weather, the people, I’ve just had so much fun and had such a great time.”

Adrian Snell of Houston found a geocache hidden by cycling legend Jens Voigt.

Almost the exact minute German veteran Jens Voigt began his ascent of Vail Pass for Stage 5 of the Pro Challenge, one of his fans was celebrating harder than the legions who adore the gregarious cyclist.

Adrian Snell of Houston marched away from the Vail Village start of the time trial, with his daughter on his hip and his GPS in his hand. He walked for almost an hour.
Hidden in the rocks along Gore Creek behind the Vail Cascade Resort, Snell found his hero’s cache: a RadioShack team hat and autographed fall Trek catalogue.

“This is so awesome,” Snell said, digging into the bag and posing for a photo with his not-quite-as-stoked daughter, Jennifer.

Just before his time trial start, Voigt tweeted the GPS coordinates of a treasure cache he left hidden behind his hotel. Voigt is an avid fan of geocaching — a high tech treasure-hunting game with millions of worldwide participants who stash knick-knacks and count each find as a badge of honor.

Voigt often tweets about his geocache finds scheduled during his worldwide training and racing. The 41-year-old obviously wanted his Vail treasure found. He posted precise coordinates and several photos of the area.

“He made it too easy, I think,” said Snell as he sat down to tweet his discovery.

Voigt is a crowd favorite, with more than 139,000 Twitter followers and hordes who crowd his Team RadioShack Leopard Trek bus at races, hoping for a moment with the cycling luminary. Voigt always takes time to pose for photos and sign autographs.

Two days earlier as Voigt led the peloton over Rabbit Ears Pass into Steamboat Springs, he appeared emotional, thanking fans as they cheered him and ran alongside his Trek.

“He’s a legend. He’ll be sorely missed when he retires next year,” said Snell, who was vacationing in Colorado to follow a few stages of the Pro Challenge. “He’s always kind to his fans.”

Tao Berman goes big. The Washington state kayaker has hucked the tallest waterfalls and built a vibrant career on his ability to paddle things previously considered unrunnable. This week Tao is expanding his game, racing in seven events at the Teva Mountain Games for the charity, Athletes For A Cure, which supports the Prostate Cancer Foundation.